Recognition and Reality
We say “recognized” because before we threw our hat into the BPTW ring for the first time in 2011, we knew we were a great place to work in Indiana. And even without that public recognition, we would be confident in that still today. We can say this humbly because we have always been so intentional about making E-g such a place to work, to be proud of, and share with our families. The fact that someone from the outside the company sees it that way, too? That’s just a bonus.
We’ve said before: that first year, when we brought home the 1st place honors, we were shocked, because we never expected folks outside E-g to recognize the value we place on the things we choose to value. To put it simply: we weren’t sure people on the outside would “get” us. We do the things that we value because we value them and it’s the right thing to do – not for the recognition. As we’ve put it before, “we’re not satisfied with those accolades because it was never merely about the accolades.”
The BPTW program has been a positive recruiting tool for us, however, and we’re very thankful for that. But even for folks that truly align with E-g’s values and intentionality around culture, it has taken many of them awhile once they’re here before they say, “Wow… it really is true. This place is exactly as advertised, if not better.”
We’ve grown over the years; healthy organizations and organisms do. Last year we became a 100% employee-owned business (ESOP). Things have certainly changed since those days working out of a garage. But the core hasn’t changed. The intentionality behind why we do what we do hasn’t changed. It never will, because people will always be highly valued here – and that’s a big part of what makes E-g such a great place to work.